M. Klatt et al., ANALYSIS OF CREEP PORE FORMATION IN LIQUID-PHASE SINTERED ALUMINA, Materials science & engineering. A, Structural materials: properties, microstructure and processing, 234, 1997, pp. 932-935
Failure of ceramic materials used in high-temperature applications is
initiated by the formation of creep pores. Thus, investigating the kin
etics of creep pore formation, especially the evolution of their size
distribution, is of key importance in obtaining an understanding of th
e failure mechanisms. This investigation is concerned with recent prog
ress in the characterization of creep pores in liquid-phase sintered a
lumina by means of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) techniques. I
t is shown tl;at creep pores ranging from about 40 nm to >1 mu m are p
resent even after the small amount of creep deformation at the end of
primary creep. For the first time a strong correlation between the siz
e of glass pockets and the creep pores has been determined. The result
s give new insights into pore formation in liquid-phase sintered ceram
ics. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.